1046 – “A baby knows nothing of hatred, intolerance, racism, sexism, bigotry, indoctrination, homophobia, and prejudice. A baby doesn’t yet understand things like love, compassion, integrity, tolerance, human decency, and truth. For the first, most formative years of my life, all they will know is what you teach me. Please choose wisely.”

-anonymous

729 – “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.”

–Martin Luther King, Jr


Today is Martin Luther King, Jr Day in the United States. This January 15th marked King’s 90th birthday and this April will be the 51 years since his assassination. 

645 – “I have no prejudice against sect or race, but want each individual to be judged by his own merit.”

–Ulysses S Grant, 18th President of the United States of America

Context: Written in a letter where Grant explains the situation regarding his issuing of General Order No. 11, which expelled all Jews from his military district. He says he issued the order when upset after being  reprimanded over reports that some people, who happened to be Jewish, were accused of crossing the Union lines, in defiance of an earlier order, to sell black market goods, specifically cotton. He says that he regrets the order, and that he did not defend it then, and would not defend it now. For full context, the full letter can be read online through the link in the source.

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286 – “Ignorance and prejudice are the handmaidens of propaganda. Our mission, therefore, is to confront ignorance with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation with the outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can, will, and must be defeated.”

–Kofi Annan

188 – “The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete.”

–Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

100 – Patches Quote from “Keep Hope Alive” Speech

“When I was a child growing up in Greenville, South Carolina, and grandmamma could not afford a blanket, she didn’t complain, and we did not freeze. Instead she took pieces of old cloth—patches, wool, silk, gabardine, crockersack—only patches, barely good enough to wipe off your shoes with. But they didn’t stay that way very long. With sturdy hands and a strong cord, she sewed them together into a quilt, a thing of beauty and power and culture. Now, Democrats, we must build such a quilt.

Farmers, you seek fair prices, and you are right—but you cannot stand alone. Your patch is not big enough.

Workers, you fight for fair wages, you are right—but your patch labor is not big enough.

Women, you seek comparable worth and pay equity, you are right—but your patch is not big enough.

Women, mothers, who seek Head Start, and day care and prenatal care on the front side of life, relevant jail care and welfare on the back side of life, you are right—but your patch is not big enough.

Students, you seek scholarships, you are right—but your patch is not big enough.

Blacks and Hispanics, when we fight for civil rights, we are right—but our patch is not big enough.

Gays and lesbians, when you fight against discrimination and a cure for AIDS, you are right—but your patch is not big enough.

Conservatives and progressives, when you fight for what you believe, right wing, left wing, hawk, dove, you are right from your point of view, but your point of view is not enough.

But don’t despair. Be as wise as my grandmamma. Pull the patches and the pieces together, bound by a common thread. When we form a great quilt of unity and common ground, we’ll have the power to bring about health care and housing and jobs and education and hope to our Nation.

We, the people, can win.”

– Jesse Jackson

34 – “Prejudices are what fools use for reason.”

– Voltaire